You’ll have to look twice before realizing that the images you’re looking at aren’t photographs, but photorealistic drawings. The 31-year-old Singapore-based artist Ivan Hoo creates images so realistic you’d swear they are real. Hoo covers a wide variety of subject matters, from humorous mishaps such as a broken nutella jar or a spilled wine glass, to adorable portraits of pets.
Impressively, according to Complex Magazine, the artist never attended art school, learning his trade by teaching himself. Hoo told the Daily Mail “I have always loved drawing ever since I was a child but I never studied art and am completely self-taught.” He added that “about four or five years ago I decided to further my knowledge in drawing techniques—in particular realism—and work full time as an artist.”
Hoo starts by taking a photograph of the subject. “All of my work starts with a basic pencil sketch and I compose my own subjects and either take a photograph or draw from still life,” he explains. After sketching the outline in graphite he completes the drawings in pastel, which he says has “always been my favorite medium to work with.”
“Art is my job as well as my passion,” the artist concludes. “I feel lucky to be able to devote myself to drawing and painting.”